Ten dining rooms with built-in seating including benches and banquettes
CategoriesInterior Design

Ten dining rooms with built-in seating including benches and banquettes

Our latest lookbook explores homes where built-in benches or banquettes offer an inviting place to sit around the dining table, while also helping to save space.

Built-in seating is a popular solution in kitchens and dining rooms where the optimal position for a table is along a wall rather than in the centre of the space.

For homes where space is limited, a fixed bench can provide more seats than would otherwise be possible. It can also be a clever way of integrating extra storage, with concealed compartments under the seat.

The most straightforward approach is to build a fixed seat along one side of the table and then add dining chairs on the opposite side, although L-shaped or curved seating installations can also be possible, depending on the layout.

Whatever the design, the key to getting it right is ensuring that the table legs don’t clash with the base of the bench, so that it’s easy for people to get in and out.

Read on for 10 examples, ranging from a minimalist terrace in London to a warm and tactile family home in Melbourne.

This is the latest in our lookbook series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, other recent lookbooks feature colourful shower rooms and kitchens with tiled worktops.


Built-in seating around the dining table in 10 Fold House, Australia, by Timmins + Whyte
Photo is by Peter Bennetts

10 Fold House, Australia, by Timmins + Whyte

This extension to a family home in Melbourne, designed by architecture and design studio Timmins + Whyte, includes a casual dining space that slots into a corner between the kitchen counter and the end wall.

The L-shaped bench is topped with peach-toned cushions, which match the warm tone of the mid-century-style oak table. As well as providing comfort, they conceal storage areas underneath.

Find out more about 10 Fold House ›


Spruce House by Ao-ft
Photo is by Rory Gardiner

Spruce House, UK, by Ao-ft

A bench seat forms an extension of the polished concrete floor in this cross-laminated timber-framed house in east London, designed by Ao-ft founders Liz Tatarintseva and Zach Fluker as their own home.

This is possible because the living space is slightly sunken. This means the concrete plinth, which actually sits at ground level, is the perfect height for sitting at the table.

Find out more about Spruce House ›


Project Karper by He!
Photo is by Tim Van de Velde

Karper, Belgium, by Hé!

This converted warehouse in Brussels was designed to serve as either a family home or a co-living building, so it features a range of different live and work spaces. One of these is a casual dining space located next to the kitchen on the second floor.

A custom-made bench anchors this space to the side wall. A matching table has a squashed circle shape, creating the feel of a round table while also aligning with the seating fixture.

Find out more about Karper ›


Dining space in Frame House by Bureau de Change
Photo is by Gilbert McCarragher

Frame House, UK, by Bureau de Change

When remodelling this south London terrace, architecture studio Bureau de Change added a three-tiered extension at the property’s rear.

The stepped terrazzo floor was designed to incorporate casual seating areas, with one of them serving as a seating area for the adjacent dining table.

Find out more about Frame House ›


Interior of Steele's Road House by Neiheiser Argyros
Photo is by Lorenzo Zandri

Steele’s Road House, UK, by Neiheiser Argyros

If a kitchen has a window bay, this can be a good place to create a seating area. This is what London studio Neiheiser Argyros did in its renovation of a Victorian terrace in the west of the city.

A curved banquette wraps the base of the window, framing a fixed cafe-style round table.

Find out more about Steele’s Road House ›


Dining room interior of Girona Street apartment in Barcelona, designed by Raúl Sanchez Architects
Photo is by José Hevia

Girona Street Apartment, Spain, by Raúl Sanchez Architects

Barcelona studio Raúl Sanchez Architects employed colour-blocking to create the dining space for this renovated apartment in the city’s Dreta de l’Eixample neighbourhood.

A seating bench and the wall behind it are both painted deep blue, in contrast with the white tones elsewhere, which gives the dining space an increased emphasis.

Find out more about Girona Street Apartment ›


Kitchen with perforated breeze black walls and a timber ceiling
Photo is by Tom Ross

Sunday, Australia, by Architecture Architecture

A kitchen island provides the backdrop to the dining table in this house in Melbourne designed by local studio Architecture Architecture.

Upholstered in a muted colour textile, the banquette has a cantilevered seat that slots neatly under a long, slender table, while traditional dining chairs are positioned on the opposite side.

Find out more about Sunday ›


Kitchen island with built-in bench seat at Scalloped Concrete House

Scalloped Concrete House, USA, by Laney LA

California-based studio Laney LA found another way to position a dining space beside a kitchen island for this home in Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles.

Instead of extending out, the bench seat is built into a recess within the wooden volume.

Find out more about Scalloped Concrete House ›


Dining table and bench seat in London terrace by O’Sullivan Skoufoglou Architects
Photo is by Ståle Eriksen

Kensington Place, UK, by O’Sullivan Skoufoglou Architects

In this extension of a mid-terrace property in London’s Kensington, a built-in bench allowed O’Sullivan Skoufoglou Architects to fit a dining table into a narrow space.

Built from plywood, the bench incorporates storage. It is slightly recessed at the base, while a backboard makes it feel more integrated with the wall behind.

Find out more about Kensington Place ›


Dining table with built-in banquette in Nido House by Angelucci Architects

Nido House, Australia, by Angelucci Architects

The ground floor spaces of this family home in Melbourne wrap around a glazed courtyard, so an L-shaped seat was the best solution for fitting in a dining table.

Designed by Angelucci Architects, the space incorporates a green leather banquette and a dining table featuring a marble surface and a base wrapped in ceramic tiles.

Find out more about Nido House ›

Reference

Thirty bathrooms by architects including concrete, stone and tiled designs
CategoriesInterior Design

Thirty bathrooms by architects including concrete, stone and tiled designs

Making improvements to your home because you’re spending so much more time there? In our latest Dezeen Lookbook, we’ve rounded up 30 bathrooms designed by architects to give you some ideas.



Pink tiled bathroom

Minimal Fantasy apartment by Patricia Bustos Studio

Designed by Patricia Bustos Studio, this pink bathroom has shiny pink curtains and mirrors with pink frames to match the rest of the apartment in Madrid, which is almost entirely pink.

Find out more about Minimal Fantasy apartment ›


Travertine marble bathroom

Botaniczna Apartment by Agnieszka Owsiany Studio

This bathroom in a Poznań apartment designed by Agnieszka Owsiany Studio for a couple working in medicine has travertine marble walls and a travertine basin.

Find out more about Botaniczna Apartment ›


White and blue filed bathroom

House 6 by Zooco Estudio

Zooco Estudio covered the walls and floors of this bathroom in Madrid with white tiles and blue grouting. A geometric counter clad with blue tiles snakes across the ground and up the wall to form a storage closet in the space.

Find out more about House 6 ›


Bathroom with square white tiles

Porto house by Fala Atelier 

Fala Atelier used square white tiles for this bathroom in a house in Porto. The tiles are paired with marble countertops, blue cupboard doors and a large round mirror over the sink.

Find out more about Porto house ›


Bathroom with mock-Tudor tiles

Makepeace Mansions apartment by Surman Weston 

The bathroom in this apartment designed by Surman Weston is finished with hand-painted tiles that are arranged to form a black-and-white graphic pattern that mimics the housing block’s mock-Tudor facade.

Find out more about Makepeace Mansions ›


Bathroom with colour-changing shower screens.

Unit 622 by Rainville Sangaré

Set in an apartment within Moshe Safdie’s brutalist Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal, this bathroom designed by Rainville Sangaré has colour-changing shower screens.

Find out more about Unit 622 ›


Bathroom with bright yellow wall

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

Created as part of the renovation of a Victorian maisonette in London, this small en-suite bathroom is finished with a black grid of tiles and a bright yellow wall.

Find out more about Rylett House ›


Bathroom with pink tiles

Cats’ Pink House by KC Design Studio 

This holiday home in Taiwan is designed with a focus on the owner’s cat and includes cat ladders, a rotating carousel-shaped climbing frame and a fluffy pink swing. Its bathroom combines larger square pink floor tiles with a wall made from terrazzo with large flecks of pink and grey.

Find out more about Cats’ Pink House ›


bathroom with grey tiles

Borden house by StudioAC

This en-suite bathroom at the front of a house designed by StudioAC has pitched walls covered in grey tiles.

Find out more about Borden house ›


Bathroom with pink walls and barn door

Spinmolenplein apartment by Jürgen Vandewalle

This bathroom in an apartment in Ghent’s tallest building is enclosed within a white lacquered-wood box and is accessed by a set of barn-style doors. Internally the bathroom is finished with earthy, pink-tone micro cement to contrast the white wood.

Find out more about Spinmolenplein apartment ›


Rammed-concrete walls in a bathroom

Cloister House by MORQ

The rammed-concrete walls of Cloister House in Perth have been left exposed in the bathroom where they are softened with timber slatted floors and a timber-clad bath and sink.

Find out more about Cloister House ›


Bathroom with red floor tiles

Akari House by Mas-aqui

Designed by Architecture studio Mas-aqui as part of a renovation of a 20th-century apartment in the mountains above Barcelona, this small bathroom combines red floor tiles with white wall tiles.

Find out more about Akari House ›


Coral vanity unit

Louisville Road house by 2LG Studio

Created by 2LG Studio as part of a colourful overhaul of a period house in south London, this bathroom has pale marble walls and a baby-blue tiled floor. The baby-blue colour was also used for the taps and mirror surround, which contrast with the coral vanity unit.

Find out more about Louisville Road house ›


Mirrored steel bath

Apartment A by Atelier Dialect

This en-suite bathroom, which forms part of a large open-plan master bedroom in an Antwerp apartment designed by Belgian studio Atelier Dialect, has a rectangular freestanding tub at its centre.

The bath is wrapped in mirrored steel to compliment a stainless-steel basin, while the walls are finished with subway tiles and mint-green paint.

Find out more about Apartment A ›


Exposed-brick bathroom

House V by Martin Skoček

Martin Skoček used salvaged bricks throughout the interiors of this gabled house near Bratislava, Slovakia. The master bedroom has a dramatic en-suite bedroom with a freestanding bathtub that is alined with the apex of the pitched timber roof.

Find out more about House V ›


Bathroom with white tiles

308 S apartment by Bloco Arquitetos 

The bathroom in this 1960s apartment renovated by Bloco Arquitetos in Brasília incorporates white tiles as a reference to architecture in the city in the 6os. The white walls and ceiling are combined with a vanity counter and floor made from Branco São Paulo – a matte-finished granite.

Find out more about 308 S apartment ›


Mexican holiday home shower room

Mexican holiday home by Palma

This slim shower room is tucked behind a bedroom in a holiday home designed by architecture studio Palma. It has slatted wooden doors that open directly to the exterior.

Find out more about Mexican holiday home ›


Taps made from gold-hued brass

South Yarra Townhouse by Winter Architecture

This bathroom designed by Winter Architecture in a Melbourne townhouse combines exposed-aggregate grey tiles and thin, horizontal white tiles with towels rails and taps made from gold-hued brass.

Find out more about South Yarra Townhouse ›


Bathroom with green tiles

Edinburgh apartment by Luke and Joanne McClelland

The main bathroom in this Georgian apartment in Edinburgh has glazed green tiles on the lower half of the walls and the front of the tub. Alongside the bath, a sink was placed on a restored 1960s wooden sideboard by Danish designer Ib Kofod Larsen.

Find out more about Edinburgh apartment ›


Bathrooms with surfaces covered in tadelakt

Ruxton Rise Residence by Studio Four

Built for Studio Four’s co-director Sarah Henry, this tranquil house in the Melbourne suburb of Beaumaris has bathrooms with surfaces covered in tadelakt – a waterproof, lime-based plaster that is often used in Moroccan architecture to make sinks and baths.

Find out more about Ruxton Rise Residence ›


Bathroom with views of Austrian countryside

House with Three Eyes by Innauer-Matt Architekten

In House with Three Eyes, the bathroom has a full-height glass wall that has views out across the surrounding Austrian countryside. The marble-clad bath is positioned right next to this window so bathers can enjoy the views.

Find out more about House with Three Eyes ›


Green coloured bathroom

Hygge Studio by Melina Romano

Brazilian designer Melina Romano designed this fern green coloured bathroom to extend from a bedroom in a São Paulo apartment. It features a striking black toilet, a corner mirror and a vanity unit built from red brick that has an open slot for storing towels and toiletries.

Find out more about Hygge Studio ›


Bathroom split from bedroom by curtain

Ready-made Home by Azab

This en-suite bathroom in Azab’s Ready-made Home is separated from the bedroom by an angled blue curtain. The triangular bathroom space is differentiated from the bedroom by its blue tiles on the floor, which extend up the front of the bath and walls.

Find out more about Ready-made Home ›


Le Corbusier's bathroom

Immeuble Molitor apartment by Le Corbusier

This small bathroom was designed by Le Corbusier in the Immeuble Molitor apartment in Paris that was his home for over 30 years. The room, which has walls that are painted sky blue and covered with small white tiles, has a short bath and sink.

Find out more about Immeuble Molitor apartment ›


Blush-toned bathroom

Apartment in Born by Colombo and Serboli Architecture

Colombo and Serboli Architecture added a new guest bathroom to this apartment in Barcelona’s historic El Born neighbourhood, which has by blush-toned tiles and a circular mirror.

Find out more about Apartment in Born ›


David Adjaye-designed bathroom

130 William skyscraper model apartment by David Adjaye

Built within an apartment in David Adjaye’s 130 William skyscraper in New York, this bathroom is lined with serrated grey marble tiles and has a wooden sink unit with a matching profile.

Find out more about 130 William skyscraper model apartment


Shou Sugi Ban bathroom

Pioneer Square Loft by Plum Design and Corey Kingston

The bathroom facilities in this loft apartment in Seattle are located in a custom-built L-shaped wooden box in one of the room’s corners, which is topped with a bedroom.

A washroom, shower, toilet and sauna are each located in different boxes that are each clad in wood charred using the traditional Japanese technique known as Shou Sugi Ban.

Find out more about Pioneer Square Loft


Emerald-coloured marble toilet surround

VS House by Sārānsh

The bathroom in VS House by Sārānsh in Ahmedabad, India, combines two clashing Indian stone finishes. Floors and walls are made from flecked grey tiles, while an emerald-coloured marble surrounds the toilets and mirror.

Find out more about VS House


Bathroom with blue and milky-orange tiling

Nagatachō Apartment by Adam Nathaniel Furman

Forming part of the brightly coloured Nagatachō Apartment, which Adam Nathaniel Furman designed to be a “visual feast”, this bathroom combines blue and milky-orange tiling. A sky-blue vanity unit, lemon-yellow towel rail and taps, and a pink toilet complete the colourful composition.

Find out more about Nagatachō Apartment


Kyle House by GRAS

This holiday home in Scotland was designed by Architecture studio GRAS to have a “monastically simple” interior. This is extended into the bathroom, which has grey walls and a shower space clad with large black tiles.

Find out more about Kyle House

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